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Rob Warner- Voice of DH. Staying with Red Bull
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SpeederFull Member
I know they have Chris Ball to organise and that does give some comfort but the UCI are lording it over the “talent” by telling them nothing and Discovery have no form for covering DH (or even MTB) that I can see. Saying that they have done great things for track cycling coverage doesn’t give me any confidence they’re not going to royally **** this up.
Happy to be proven wrong but it’s not an auspicious or confidence inspiring start.
cookeaaFull Member…Discovery have no form that covering DH (or even MTB) that I can see. Saying that they have done great things for track cycling coverage doesn’t give me any confidence they’re not going to royally **** this up.
Happy to be proven wrong but it’s not an auspicious start.
It’s just a sport and they’re a broadcaster, clearly they think they can make it work and worth their while. Odds are they will hire in the same production team(s) currently doing the live stream footage, unless they are actually RB staff (?)…
But I would guess that Discovery want a fair bit for their money too from a say in the number of rounds, to some having control over who’s logo is on screen at any given moment, maybe even wanting to put pauses into the racing to allow adverts to roll if it’s being broadcast? That’s the kind of concession some US sports broadcasters get.
I think we have some Discovery channels included (Virgin media), but how accessible Live DH will be going forwards is an interesting question. And who would pay to view it having watched it free for about a decade? Vs edited highlights 24hrs or more later? It’s a format that suits live broadcast/streaming best, but is enough interest there for people to pay to watch it live?
Dunno I think we’ve been spoiled for a good long while…weeksyFull MemberAnd who would pay to view it having watched it free for about a decade?
Sure, i’ll pay… it depends how much of course… £10 a month, yeah…. £20 i’ll start grumbling though.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...kayla1Free MemberBut I would guess that Discovery want a fair bit for their money too from a say in the number of rounds, to some having control over who’s logo is on screen at any given moment, maybe even wanting to put pauses into the racing to allow adverts to roll if it’s being broadcast? That’s the kind of concession some US sports broadcasters get.
Ugh. Anyone else think of this when they read that?
SpeederFull MemberVery valid to suggest @cookeaa that RB may have found their limit with it. I don’t doubt that they have the resources to do it but there’s no add revenue in it for them (I only ever see adverts for other RB programmes) and I doubt they have the will to bankrole the whole thing. They do tend to focus on minority sports and with the UCI lumping a lot of cycling activities together this would become unattractive. (not many RB helmets on the road/track)
squirrelkingFree MemberAnd who would pay to view it having watched it free for about a decade?
Good question. As I said previously, it’s not necessarily just a case of subscribing to something, you could be talking about a TV licence on top of that plus the rest of the base package if it’s a cable/satellite deal. That’s a hell of a lot of money I won’t be paying.
SpeederFull Memberweeksy
And who would pay to view it having watched it free for about a decade?
Sure, I’ll pay… it depends how much of course… £10 a month, yeah…. £20 I’ll start grumbling though.
I’ll happily pay so long as it’s only an amount that is representative for DH. I don’t want access to an other of their sports or programming. I realise that’s unrealistic and it’s one (large) size fits all so I can’t see me watching it live any more which will be a real shame.
momoFull MemberWith regard to the riders Union, Cathro was talking about it on the pink bike podcast after Lenzerheide (I think) and he said that membership was currently limited to the top 30 men and top 15 women (Can’t remember how many juniors)
Dark-SideFull MemberI’d imagine coverage will follow the same model as their road cycling coverage, so ad supported coverage on Eurosport alongside gated content on the app/website like GCN Plus.
If they improve EWS coverage and bundle that into a mountain bike package with DH and XC, I’d pay for it like I do GCN Plus.
cookeaaFull MemberWell I just had a quick look and we’ve got ‘Discovery History’ and ‘Discovery 1’…
Discovery 1’s Saturday morning schedule? Back to back episodes (like 3 hours worth) of “Treehouse masters”… Now I like a good Treehouse but three hours? Nah.
They’ve definitely got some gaps to fill in their schedule. Probably not a bad buy from Discovery’s POV.
cookeaaFull MemberOh hang on, its +1. Jesus they’re paying to broadcast this crap twice…
I just watched an ad break that was a full 3min infomercial for a JML desk fan, a couple of discovery documentary promos an then back to the Treehouses…
They REALLY need the content.
chakapingFree MemberWith regard to the riders Union, Cathro was talking about it on the pink bike podcast after Lenzerheide (I think) and he said that membership was currently limited to the top 30 men and top 15 women
Yes and I think I saw this elsewhere too.
Seems a bit shit considering how deep the field is now in the men’s.
Won’t the top 30 men have different priorities to the other 30 or 40 riders who are right on their tails?
nickcFull MemberSeems a bit shit considering how deep the field is now in the men’s.
I think the idea is be representative – a bit like sending the union rep into the pay negotiation rather than the entire workforce.
chakapingFree MemberI think the idea is be representative – a bit like sending the union rep into the pay negotiation rather than the entire workforce.
As per my previous comment, whose interests are the top 30 riders going to represent?
Those of the top 30 riders, of course.
So when it come to rules around practice times, the possibility of the field being cut in finals etc. they won’t be jumping to make things better for those below them on the timesheet.
It’s like if the union reps were all from the management tiers.
a11yFull Member“He goes down like a homesick mole!”
^ I’m going to miss random Warner comments like that next year.
nickcFull Memberwhose interests are the top 30 riders going to represent?
There’s nothing to stop riders from lower down the order just asking question through their rep.
moonsaballoonFull MemberRonan Dunne has probably just secured himself a factory ride / pro contract for next year . It’s those moments that I think will be a big loss to downhill if it became a closed shop .
allyharpFull Member“He goes down like a homesick mole!”
Heard that one and loved it too!
weeksyFull MemberI won the prize at home. As soon as Kerr set off.
“i bet you he tells us all about his HArdline results…”
2s later “Bernard Kerr has won…….” lol…
Watching/listening yesterday, he’s still just as funny to listen to as ever… I just can’t see how they’ll get anyone in to replace him well… but i really do hope to be proven wrong. Assuming the person they get in knows about Warner… they’re going to be very daunted by the proposition of taking over from him !
teenratFull MemberAnother one from yesterday 😂
‘he’s as busy as a wasp at a picnic’
deviantFree MemberYep, if it’s crap next year it’s an ideal opportunity for Red Bull to launch their own series with more prize money – keep the slightly dodgy free Red Bull TV coverage, keep Warner as commentary (Elliot Jackson has been good too), give more to the athletes and the UCI/discovery will be forgotten about overnight.
jimmyFull MemberAnother one from yesterday 😂
‘he’s as busy as a wasp at a picnic’
Came here to post this!
chakapingFree MemberThere’s nothing to stop riders from lower down the order just asking question through their rep.
Do you know for sure that it’s a normal union, but with 45 reps?
Sure the membership isn’t limited to that number?
alpinFree MemberDoes DH even need the UCI?
The only exciting part if the Worlds, but AFIAUI, you don’t need UCI points to take part, just the blessing of your nation’s cycling federation.
Let Disc. have the World Cup whilst starting and promoting the RedBull Global Race Series. RedBull have enough riders that convincing them to take part would lead to other non-RedBull riders joining in for FOMO.
Much like Crankworx is just a bit of a sideshow now, they could push their own series and I think riders would want to race, especially if the racing is free to watch. Factory teams are in it essentially for the brand exposure. Kinda hard to expose your brand to the masses when the main event is behind a paywall.
super_12Free MemberI’ve watched most of the rider/media stuff on it and my main thought is this:
“Whenever I have been involved in any change management programme, if the main people it is going to affect are not being told anything (which it certainly seems they are not here), then something bad is lurking around the corner”.
I was heartened to hear that Chris Ball was working on it, but (again in my experience), it doesn’t matter who your expert witness is, if the guys with the chequebooks want to do something, they will. I just hope they don’t remove exposure and opportunity from up and coming riders – and so rely on old sweats, then leave the ‘product’ (yuck) a hollowed-out shell when they’re done.
I see the riders have effectively organised their ‘union’ outside of the usual channels (Minnaar and Pompon, I think). For me, Minnaar is the wrong guy to have as a riders rep – he’s too close to retirement and doesnt have as much skin in the game as someone younger and less established.
Overall my gut feel is that this change is not going to be a good one, unfortunately.
chrismacFull MemberLet Disc. have the World Cup whilst starting and promoting the RedBull Global Race Series
that is wholly dependent on if it makes advertising sense to rb. I imagine organising a whole series is a lot more expensive than just doing the broadcasting part. Then you need to get the resorts on board to host the events. I suspect it’s quite a big ask
the00Free MemberMinaar has been rider rep for ages. It’s not the same as an actual and proper union because they don’t have any power as a collective.
chakapingFree MemberThe WC series isn’t going to be superseded anytime soon, and even if ESO and Discovery **** it up, it’ll most-likely get fixed again before a rival series has time to get off the ground.
Just hope they pull their finger out in communicating what they’re planning and genuinely consult with the teams, riders, sponsors and even fans.
I heard the Snowshoe organisers say they are hoping to host again next year but it’s still not confirmed. That is nuts and makes me worry what the **** ESO are playing at TBH.
dirkdestijlFree MemberThe fear of Marty McCrossan calling XC racing on GCN is real. He is known as the “growler” amongst unhappy CX viewers who have to endure his worthless commentary. GCN have covered XC MTB before – rounds of the Swiss Cup and Marty was commentating.
chakapingFree MemberHe is known as the “growler”
An interesting nickname for British viewers.
squirrelkingFree MemberSo, this got dropped into a conversation this morning:
Yes, that’s the correct link, read it through and you’ll come to the interesting bits.
The move comes amid a change in leadership since Warner Bros merged with Discovery in May 2021. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who recently oversaw swingeing cuts at CNN including shutting down its $300m streaming service CNN+ one month after it launched, is reportedly prioritising cost-cutting and refocusing the studio on theatrical films over streaming projects.
…
Several shows including Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, The Last OG and Chad have been cancelled since the Warner Bros Discovery merger, while a DC Comics film of The Wonder Twins that was in development has also been canned.
Now on its own thats unusual but when you can a week old streaming service, a movie in post and several series AND have a project in development with absolute radio silence it doesn’t inspire confidence it’ll even happen, never mind being any good.
BruceWeeFull MemberI read the article earlier but missed the part about the Discovery merger.
Yeah, not good.
sharkattackFull MemberI wonder if Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav likes downhill mountain biking?
With any luck the UCI will go crawling back to Red Bull and it’ll be like this was all a bad dream.
EDIT: I just Googled him. No he doesn’t like mountain biking, he likes money. He really, really loves money.
BruceWeeFull MemberWith any luck the UCI will go crawling back to Red Bull and it’ll be like this was all a bad dream.
Or the UCI will be left with an un-broadcast race series* and Redbull will make their own series that, while it doesn’t have a World Championship attached, will have the advantage of being watchable.
*The nostalgic part of me is actually looking forward to this. It’ll be like back in the late 90s when I would wait for Dirt to publish the race reports so I could find out who won.
sharkattackFull MemberOr the UCI will be left with an un-broadcast race series* and Redbull will make their own series that, while it doesn’t have a World Championship attached, will have the advantage of being watchable.
I would love nothing more than for the UCI to be booted out of downhill forever but it’s not going to happen. Not over the course of one off season anyway. It would take years to put together.
BruceWeeFull MemberI would love nothing more than for the UCI to be booted out of downhill forever but it’s not going to happen. Not over the course of one off season anyway. It would take years to put together.
I don’t know. Redbull could probably put something together pretty quickly if everything did fall through.
On the other hand, I can definitely see the UCI refusing to go back to Redbull and instead trying to put an un-broadcast season together or just cancelling World Cups for that year.
If it’s a choice between a Redbull series and no exposure for a year I can see which way the big teams would jump.
johnjn2000Full MemberWell, half of them don’t need to worry as the field is being cut to 30
The women have had this for years. Yes you can argue that there are less in the field but pretty sure there are enough to increase the field in the finals.
Red Bull have known about this for how many years and they have re-signed him. Are they going to expand crankworx Dh coverage? Broadcast the IXS? Start their own rival series?
This could go the way of the Liv golf series with riders being banned from UCI events like the USPGA are doing with the golfers. I have no issue with the DH riders doing this as it won’t be funded by a wad of cash from a nation that has a $hitty human rights record………..well, in theory, it’s all relative.
danposs86Full MemberWould it be easy for RB to pump money into an existing side series (Crankworx, IXS) and bring that up to a level that makes it more popular than the UCI WC?
Use their broadcasting skills to get it out there, allow more freedom with people filming their own content (Cathro, Wyn, Kerr, etc) to get even more of a buzz about the series.
Throw in a few ‘special/bonus’ rounds (Hardline) and you have something that could be up and running before Disco has announced anything.
danposs86Full MemberActually, just seen on the Vital 2023 Team Rumors, Rob Warner has done some commenting on an IXS youtube video, is it a clue or a sign of the future?
davespike1981Full MemberComing back to the Olympics question, i agree with Speeder, I’ve always seen DH as being equitable to Ski Downhil. People watch that as the big ticker alpine skiing event. Athletes enter from countries that don’t have snow. Everyone has a practice run that determines who goes down the hill last. Run times aren’t a million miles away for the TV piece.
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